Port Authority to cut bus routes, hike fares

As many as one third of the Port Authority of Allegheny County’s bus routes will not run come… As many as one third of the Port Authority of Allegheny County’s bus routes will not run come March 13, and other routes will be significantly cut.

The authority’s Board of Directors voted on Wednesday to cut about 45 routes from its service and reduce service on other routes. It also voted to increase fares in January. A news release on the organization’s website cited a sharp drop in state funding as the reason for the cuts.

According to the Port Authority website, some routes, like the 71A Negly, will have reduced service on all days. Others, like the 64 Lawrenceville-Waterfront or the 46D Curry, will have reduced or no service on weekends.

Many communities, including Liberty, East McKeesport and Marshall, as well as the Robinson Town Center, will lose service entirely. Others, like Mt. Washington and Trafford, will lose weekend service.

The Port Authority projected a deficit of more than $40 million in its annual operating budget without the cuts. The deficit came from a failure of the state to fund the Port Authority’s budget, according to the organization’s budget documents available online.

Act 44, the state transportation funding bill, originally included revenue from tolling I-80, which was not approved by the Federal Highway Administration. Since that plan fell through, the state has not increased funding to the Port Authority.

The operating budget shortfall came separate from a previous boon in the authority’s capital budget early last month. A federal transportation grant will allow the Port Authority to buy more than 50 new buses.

The $22 million grant from the Department of Transportation was part of a federal program to provide funds to more than 150 transportation authorities nationwide.

Port Authority spokesman Jim Ritchie said that allocations for the authority’s capital budget — projects like purchasing new buses — and its day-to-day operations budget are kept separate by legislators.